Another World Metal Factory

Chapter 37

Porta and Kerta led Channing toward the forest next to the village.

Channing followed them with a sigh, his expression resigned. Tehez walked beside him, observing the village with interest.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Channing, you’re good at fixing things, right?”

“Good at fixing things, right?”

At the twins’ words, Channing’s expression hardened slightly before he nodded.

“Well… I’m a Jinwoo Metal employee, so to a certain extent, yes.”

“Then we’d like you to fix this.”

The twins said so and entered the forest. Channing followed them, thinking he didn’t know what to do with their behavior.

As he pushed through the branches and went deeper into the forest, a familiar building came into view. It was a structure with a giant wheel, next to a wooden hut.

“It’s a watermill.”

“It’s a watermill.”

Channing and Tehez said simultaneously at the sight, and the twins smiled brightly, gesturing towards the watermill.

As he approached, Channing realized the watermill was older than he thought and wasn’t turning properly, as if it was broken.

“You want me to fix this?”

Porta and Kerta opened the door of the watermill with bright smiles.

“It’s quite an old watermill.”

“Mom and Dad said it’s been here since they were young.”

“They said it broke down a few years ago.”

Kerta continued Porta’s words, and Channing carefully examined the watermill.

“The gear shaft of the watermill is warped. That’s why the connected gears are broken.”

“Wow. You knew just by looking at it.”

Tehez spoke to Channing, who had grasped the situation as soon as he saw the inside of the watermill. He scratched his head and began to examine the inside again.

“Since it’s all made of wood, it’s reached the end of its lifespan. I need to replace the gear shaft and make new gears.”

Channing nodded as he spoke.

“But this doesn’t look like it was made by Orcs. What’s the story behind it?”

“A human made it for us a looong time ago.”

“It’s a story from when Mom and Dad were young.”

Channing nodded again at Kerta and Porta’s words.

“I guess that’s why they couldn’t fix it and left it abandoned.”

“Can you fix it, Channing?”

At Tehez’s question, Channing grinned and scratched his head.

“Let’s give it a shot.”

3.

Channing and Tehez, along with Kerta and Porta, returned to the inn to gather tools and then headed back to the watermill to start working.

“Okay! You need to hold it steady there!”

Channing shouted, holding onto a chain, and Kerta and Porta quickly pulled the rope.

Channing decided to fix the wheel outside the watermill first. He built a frame with steel pipes and clamps and used a chain block to secure the water wheel. Kerta and Porta used ropes to further secure the wheel.

After the wheel was secured with ropes, Channing removed the chain block.

“First, I’ll remove the warped shaft. Since it’s made of wood, it’ll warp over time, so I’m going to replace it with a steel pipe.”

“Will it be okay if the sizes are different?”

“If we had ball bearings or something, it would work, but since we don’t, we’ll have to make the hole part again with plywood and fit it in.”

Channing talked with Tehez while checking the wooden stakes holding the wheel in place.

“It’s really stuck.”

“Can you pull it out?”

Tehez asked Channing, who was hanging onto the fixed water wheel, struggling to pull out the embedded stake. Channing nodded and started to put more force into it.

“Ugh… This is… really… Yikes!”

The stake he was pulling hard with pliers suddenly popped out, and Channing, losing his balance, staggered and fell into the stream.

Kerta and Porta burst into laughter at the sight, and Tehez also turned her head and started laughing.

“Phew! Haha… Help me instead of just laughing.”

Channing grumbled, soaking wet, but everyone just kept laughing.

Afterward, Channing, who came inside the building, pulled out the old shaft with the help of Kerta and Porta.

After removing all the gears attached to the old shaft, Channing began to examine the wheel. The teeth, made by inserting cylinders into a circular plate, were missing in places.

“This is unusable. Can we make new ones?”

“It would be nice to make them with metal, but we don’t have the materials.”

Tehez said, looking at the broken gears in response to Channing’s words, and Channing crossed his arms and stared at the gears.

“Hmm…”

“Do you have a good idea, Channing?”

“Do you have an idea?”

“I’m thinking about it. I feel like something’s coming to mind, but not quite… Hmm…”

Channing, looking at the gears, pulled out one of the wooden cylinders. The old cylinder snapped.

“Ha. This is a dead end… Hmm… Um… If I do this and this…”

Channing started pondering, looking at the piece of wood for a long time, and Kerta and Porta watched him silently.

“What is he thinking so hard about?”

“Dad said when a man is deep in thought, he’s thinking about something important.”

Kerta replied to Tehez’s murmur, and Tehez nodded slightly.

“Mom said they’re just thinking useless thoughts.”

“Hahaha!”

Tehez burst out laughing at Porta’s retort. However, seeing Channing’s unusually serious expression, she decided to observe a little longer.

After pondering for a long time, Channing clapped his hands and jumped up.

“Alright. Everyone come here and help me!”

Channing put down the gear and spoke, and Tehez nodded.

Channing gave Kerta and Porta detailed instructions and sent them outside the mill. He removed the wooden shaft connected to the water wheel and inserted a steel pipe.

Since the steel pipe was thinner than the old wooden shaft, the hole didn’t fit properly. Channing solved this by drilling a hole in the plywood with a hole saw.

A hole saw is a cylindrical saw used to drill circular holes, attached to the front of an impact driver.

Channing inserted the plywood with the drilled hole into the shaft, attached it to the wall, and secured it firmly with nails.

The other side went through a hole drilled in the thick square pillar that ran through the middle of the mill, and he filled that part in the same way.

“For now, this completes the main shaft. Next is the shaft connected to the millstone. Since this part needs to be connected to the millstone, I’m going to try to give it more strength by properly connecting the bolts.”

Channing pulled out the shaft connected vertically to the millstone. The millstone had a square hole, and the shaft that fit into it was cut square for connection.

“You’re going to make the pipe square?”

“No. I’m going to drill more holes in the millstone and weld the pipe to fix it in those holes. That way, it can withstand more force. Ah, Tehez. Can you remove all those gears and take out the wooden rods they’re attached to?”

At Channing’s words, Tehez looked at the disassembled gears and nodded.

“Channing! We brought what you asked for.”

“We brought it!”

In the meantime, Kerta and Porta entered the mill carrying an oxy-fuel welding torch.

“Ah! Good job. You brought the right thing just by listening to the explanation.”

At Channing’s praise, Kerta and Porta looked at each other and smiled brightly. Channing quickly changed the bit of the impact drill and started positioning it on the millstone.

After struggling with a tape measure and a pen for a long time, Channing finally found the right position. He climbed onto the giant millstone, gripped the impact drill tightly with both hands, and pressed the button.

The sound of the impact drill rotating and the stone being chipped away filled the mill.

Kerta and Porta grimaced and covered their ears, but Channing continued drilling the holes without a care.

After drilling two holes, one on each side, Channing replaced the impact bit with a hole saw bit and started drilling holes in the steel pipe.

After a lot of sparks flew, a hole was finally drilled through the steel pipe. He carefully inserted a slightly thinner steel pipe into it.

“So you’re making the middle pipe the axis and creating separate force-bearing parts on each side.”

“Yes. That way, it can withstand more force. Tehez, help me with the welding.”

Channing put on a protective mask after answering Tehez’s question, and Tehez quickly put on her own. As he opened the valve of the oxygen tank and lit it, a strong flame erupted.

“Ah, Kerta and Porta, don’t look. You could hurt your eyes.”

“But we want to see.”

“We want to see.”

The twins replied, but when Tehez shook her head, they both turned around.

Tehez put on gloves and held the pipe that went through the steel pipe with her hand, and Channing took the welding rod and started welding. A bright light melted the welding rod and started joining the pipes.

“Okay. This part seems done. Tehez, did you remove all the wooden rods from the circular plates?”

“Yeah. They were just inserted, so they all came out easily.”

“Then while I finish the rest of the welding, can you put in the bolts and nuts? Size 100.”

“Aha! Got it.”

Understanding his intention, Tehez smiled and started inserting bolts into the disassembled circular plates, and Channing continued welding.

“Can we open our eyes now?”

“Can we open our eyes?”

“Ah, it’s okay now. I’m done.”

When Channing closed the gas and oxygen tank valves, Kerta and Porta turned around.

“Now it’s time to assemble. Tehez, how are the gears?”

Tehez showed the gears in her hand. Bolts were firmly fixed to the circular wooden plates.

“Excellent. It’s temporary, but it’ll work.”

“It probably won’t last long like this, right?”

“We’ll have to make proper gears when we get back. I’ll talk to the Factory Manager-nim. For now, let’s just make it work.”

Channing inserted the gears into the pre-installed shaft, drilled holes with the impact drill, and secured them with bolts.

“Wouldn’t it be sturdier to fix another one on the opposite side?”

“Hmm. You’re right. One seems a bit insufficient, doesn’t it?”

Channing nodded at Tehez’s words and drilled a hole on the opposite side and fastened a bolt.

“For now, the shaft connected to the water wheel is done. Now we need to connect the millstone shaft.”

“I’ll help with this too. You finish the bottom part, Channing. I’ll finish the top gear part.”

“I’ll leave it to you.”

Channing and Tehez each climbed onto the millstone.

After carefully setting up the shaft, they aligned the holes drilled in the millstone and the pipe and inserted the bolts.

Channing tightened the bolts with a ratchet wrench and looked up.

“How’s it going?”

“It’s done. I’ve also set up the moving function properly.”

“As expected, you’re reliable. Alright! Then the inside is mostly done. Let’s fix the water wheel outside.”

Channing gathered his tools. He went to where the water wheel was tied up, carefully inserted the steel pipe into the water wheel shaft, and meticulously filled the remaining gaps with pieces of wood.

“Ugh. Since the hole sizes are different, it’s not ideal. I tried to be thorough, but it might be slightly off.”

“It’s only a millimeter difference. It shouldn’t be a big problem. This kind of watermill isn’t something that breaks down with that much error.”

“Still… If the Factory Manager-nim finds out, he’ll scold me for doing it this way.”

When Channing sighed as he got off the water wheel, Tehez burst out laughing.

“I thought you didn’t care much since you always smile even when you get scolded, but you’re also afraid of the Factory Manager-nim’s scolding.”

“Do you think I like being scolded? Kerta! Porta! We’re done, so try letting the water flow!”

Channing got off the water wheel, went out to the stream, and shouted. Kerta and Porta, who were upstream where the water flowed down, nodded and pulled out the wooden board blocking the water flow.

Water started rushing in through the waterway dug separately next to the stream.

“Okay. Tehez, untie the knot there.”

Channing checked the water flow and climbed up the wall to untie the rope holding the water wheel. At the same time, Tehez untied the knot as well.

As the rope that was holding it in place was untied, the water wheel started to rotate powerfully.

Channing quickly pulled the rope to prevent it from getting tangled.

“Wow! It’s turning!”

“It’s turning!”

Kerta and Porta, watching from above, cheered, and Channing nodded, looking at the rotating water wheel. The water wheel started to turn vigorously, hit by the falling water.

“Good. It seems like there’s no big problem with the water wheel part.”

“Now it’s just a matter of whether the inside works properly. Let’s go in and connect it.”

Tehez opened the mill door as Channing clapped and rejoiced.

Kerta and Porta, who were up above, quickly came down, and the four of them entered the mill together.

“Alright. Then let’s give it a try!”

Channing said, going to the side of the gear and grabbing the handle.

The gear connected to the millstone was usually lowered, and when the handle was pulled up, the gear would rise and mesh with the water wheel’s gear.

“Heave-ho!”

Channing pulled the handle with all his weight, and the gear rose, meshing with the water wheel’s gear.

With a creaking sound, the gear connected to the millstone started rotating, turning the millstone.

“Wow, it’s moving!”

“It’s moving!”

Kerta and Porta jumped up and down, cheering, and hugged Channing.

“Cough! Cough! I can’t… breathe!”

Channing coughed at the sudden hug from the Orc twins, but his expression wasn’t unpleasant.

“You’ll kill Channing.”

Tehez spoke up, unable to watch any longer, and the twins released Channing. He grabbed his neck and started coughing.

“Huff. Huff… Anyway, we confirmed that it’s working fine, right?”

“Yes! Mom and Dad will be happy!”

“That’s right! They said they have memories here.”

Kerta and Porta chattered excitedly, and Channing cleared his throat and looked around the inside of the mill, asking,

“Memories of the watermill? That’s a peculiar memory. What did you do here?”

“They said our older brother was made here.”

“That’s right!”

“Cough! Cough! Oh my!”

Channing was so surprised by the sudden words that he started coughing, and Tehez burst out laughing.

“Wh… What do you mean…”

Tehez burst out laughing again at the sight of Channing blushing and muttering, and Kerta and Porta also burst into laughter.